Luciana Diniz has taken the Longines Global Champions Tour 2015 title after winning the final Grand Prix of the season in Doha, Qatar.
Defending champion
The competition went down to the wire, with Luciana, Scott Brash and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson all in contention for the overall title.
First of the three contenders to ride was defending champion Scott Brash. He picked up an unlucky four faults with the normally ultra careful Hello Sanctos. However, it was still enough to secure their place in the second round, which left them still in contention.
Sweden’s Rolf-Göran Bengtsson was next andhe produced a super clear on Casall ASK, as did Luciana with Fit For Fun 13.
‘Silly fence’
In round two, Scott had another pole down to finish on eight faults in total in a time of 62.69sec.
“I had a silly fence in the first round, coming out of the double,” said Scott. “This is showjumping so we know it can happen. So I started thesecond round thinking that I had to be the fastest of the four faulters to have any chance so I went as fast as I could and it’s the reason I had a fence down. But Sanctos has been wonderful all year
Rolf-Göran Bengtsson jumped another great clear, to earn his place in the final round alongside Luciana. With Scott no longer in contention for the 2015 Title and it was a two horse race to thefinish.
Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum set the standard with a fast time of 36.55sec
Rolf-Göran needed to win the Grand Prix to be in with a chance of the title, and although he galloped around the course, he couldn’t beat Meredith’s fast time.
‘Winning mood’
Last to go was Luciana, who knew the title was hers, but still went out to win the final Grand Prix of the season. Fit For Fun 13 responded with a super-fast clear in a time of 36.10 to win the class and the series.
“I was in a winning mood today,” said Luciana. “It’s true, if you ride with love and you believe inwhat you do it makes your life easier. So this success to be here, I am not alone in that.”
Scott was gracious in defeat saying Luciana “really deserves” it.
“She’s been so consistent the whole year, as has Rolf,” he said. “I think Fit For Fun jumped unbelievable today, it was actually an absolute joy to watch. They jumped fantastic,as did Rolf, so they really deserved it. In the last three legs of the Longines Global Champions Tour they just ran away it, so it’s all credit to both of them.”
‘Really chuffed’
The night before the big event, Scott and Rolf-Göran went head-to-head once again. This time Scott came out on top, winning the CSI5* with Hello Forever, although the Swedish riders was just seven tenths of a second behind him.
Still only nine years old, Scott said he was “really chuffed” with Hello Forever’s performance.
“His jump is very good so hopefully next year he’ll be an ever better horse – I’m delighted with him. He loves a jump off, he’s a winner.”
Watch the Longines Global Champions Tour Final on H&C at the following times